Brought together by the call of service, a diverse group of student groups are banding together to help others through an annual event called “25 Days of Service.”

The event, ongoing for the first 25 days of October and organized by the Patrick Healy Fellows Program, coordinates various service events each involving two student groups that normally would not be working together. It is the largest service collaboration at Georgetown.

“It’s a unique way for Georgetown students to meet other students who they otherwise would never see,” said Ryan Wilson (COL ’12), a Patrick Healy Fellow and co-coordinator of the event. “Our hope is that even after the project is over they will collaborate on other events and become friends with people they didn’t know.”

25 Days of Service was started five years ago in an effort to promote tolerance and collaboration.

“That was the inspiration for this idea of collaboration among student groups on campus,” said Hannah Kang (SFS ’12), another Patrick Healy Fellow and co-coordinator of the event.

Clubs interested in being involved attended an interest meeting in September at which they were paired with another club and selected on a service project. Each partnership was given $40 of funding for their project. This year the Korean Students Association and the Caribbean Culture Circle are working together to make goodie bags to distribute at a local children’s hospital, among other projects.

“It’s always really gratifying to see really opposite organizations who have absolutely nothing to do with each other come together to do something for the D.C. community. I’ve seen a lot of really constructive relationships come out of it,” Kang said.

“It’s a nice way to meet new and different people and do something community service-oriented,” said Laurel Zigarelli (SFS ’14), who participated in a joint project run by Georgetown University College Republicans and Hoyas for Troops. Members of the two groups wrote letters to American troops overseas expressing their support.

“It was awesome. . I was able to give back in a way I hope someone will appreciate,” Zigarelli said. “I hope everyone gets a chance to give back in a little way and get involved in one of the events.”

Both Wilson and Kang believe that 25 Days of Service is a crucial part of the university’s commitment to tolerance and diversity, a mission realized through unexpected student group pairings on projects.

“It’s one thing to talk about diversity, but it’s another to actually practice it,” Kang said. “In light of the recent debates we’ve had on campus about diversity, I think 25 Days puts diversity in action. It means getting people involved through their clubs to work with other organizations they’ve never worked with before.”

Kang added that these acts of service play a crucial role in the campus climate, “Without that kind of

action, diversity can only mean so much.”